


The Key to Our Universe

by yozra



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: 5+1 Things, Bokuaka week day 6, Canon Compliant, Fluff, M/M, Manga Spoilers, Star Gazing, stars stars stars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:47:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25719049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yozra/pseuds/yozra
Summary: Five times Akaashi takes Bokuto star gazing, and one time Bokuto takes Akaashi.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 8
Kudos: 54





	The Key to Our Universe

**Author's Note:**

> Five things (5+1) | travel/roadtrip | ~~alternate first meeting au~~
> 
> This is a 5+1 but it will also read 3+3. Either way, they both add up to an upside-down 9 :x

.・.✦.・.✱.・.✪.・.✱.・.❈.・.

Heavy weight slammed into Akaashi’s back, pushing him face-first into stars.  
  
“Akaashi! You gotta save me!”  
  
“I’d be able to save you better if you stopped pushing me into the table,” Akaashi said without missing a beat, his deadpan tone muffled by open books and not quite achieving the desired flatness; the weight alleviated, and he pushed himself off his desk to see his distraught senpai – even the spiked hair was looking a little on the floppy side.  
  
“Do you have yakisoba bread on you?! Or know anyone who has?!”  
  
Akaashi now understood. Their formidable manager had given Bokuto an ultimatum: for every day he forgot to return her notebook, he was to give up his yakisoba bread, and failing that, he was to accompany her after school to one of the restaurants and cafes she’d like to visit, and he was to pay for her entire order.  
  
Luckily for Bokuto, Akaashi was already prepared; he reached into his bag and pulled out that all-familiar bread wrapped in cling film.  
  
“Please return her notebook tomorrow,” Akaashi said, holding it out.  
  
“You’re a lifesaver, Akaashi, I knew I could rely on my second in command!”  
  
Bokuto grabbed the food – and instead of shooting off, which was what Akaashi was expecting him to do, he lingered, looking past him and down at his desk. “Are you studying during your lunch break?”  
  
Akaashi also glanced back, to his two open books – one a notebook he had been drawing in, the other a book from the library open at a page of the night sky. “In a way.”  
  
Bokuto’s face suddenly appeared right by Akaashi’s, and it took all of his will not to turn.  
  
“What are you drawing?”  
  
“The Summer Triangle.” The pages of his notebook were filled with various dot-to-dot illustrations, and with the help of Bokuto, the line he’d been drawing now took a sharp turn at Deneb and veered off into a star in a completely different system. Akaashi picked up his rubber and started erasing the line. “I’m learning the names of the stars and their constellations so I can recognise them when I go camping over the holidays.”  
  
“That’s so cool! What’s that one there?”  
  
And that was how Akaashi – after Bokuto pulled up a nearby chair to sit next to him, oblivious to the surrounding whispers about a third year hanging out in a second year’s classroom – began explaining the various constellations of the summer sky.  
  
At least, until Bokuto was captured and, after handing over his penalty, was dragged back to his own classroom.

.・.✻.・.✵.・.✭.・.✻.・.✧.・.✫.・.

“I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to be here with me today, Bokuto-san.”  
  
“Why’re you being so formal?! And don’t sound like you had to drag me here – I wanted to come with you!”  
  
Bokuto leaned forward to read the plaque on the glass case, describing the Greek vase on display.  
  
Akaashi waited patiently until Bokuto straightened up again, with a deep hum that acknowledged his newly acquired information as interesting.  
  
“You said it’s for class?”  
  
“Not exactly – we were skimming ancient world history and our teacher happened to mention this exhibition.”  
  
Bokuto started walking to the door leading to the next section and Akaashi followed, like he had been doing since entering, almost as if Akaashi had been the one dragged to the exhibition. What he was actually doing was taking note of the smallest changes to Bokuto’s behaviour because he was afraid Bokuto would become fidgety or flash a bored expression. It hadn’t happened yet, but they still had a third of the exhibition to get through.  
  
They stepped into a darkened room, the walls sprinkled with dots and scattered with lines, grouped by faint drawings of mythological figures and creatures.  
  
“Wow – look at all that!”  
  
Akaashi glanced to Bokuto, the big smile that usually lit the room now illuminated in a soft moon-like glow.  
  
“That eagle there! Doesn’t it have the star that’s part of the triangle you were talking about?”  
  
Akaashi searched the drawings and spotted the flying bird.  
  
“You’re right,” Akaashi said quietly, surprised Bokuto remembered, but he should have known better than to think he would forget. “The eagle is Aquila, and the star included in the triangle is Altair.”  
  
“It reminds me of Shiratorizawa. Hey, do you think there’s an owl?!”  
  
“I don’t believe there is…”  
  
But it didn’t stop Bokuto from trying to seek one out. He found Karasuno (Corvus), Nohebi (Hydra, Hydrus, Serpens – he moaned about the large number of snakes), Nekoma (Leo – Akaashi thought he was stretching that one), and became a little down when he couldn’t find his owl, but perked right up once Akaashi pointing out heroes and began relaying their stories.

.・.✺.・.✱.・.✯.・.✻.・.

It was strange to be sitting beside Bokuto on a cushioned seat, leaning so far back he was almost lying down in the darkened room to view the billions of stars projected onto the ceiling—  
  
But they were the last thing on his mind.  
  
It had been three months. _Only_ three months, and Akaashi knew there wasn’t anything so different about Bokuto except for the label replaced by school and society after his graduation.  
  
But now, it felt like they were standing on opposite sides of the Milky Way, the wide river of stars. Akaashi still spent a good part of his time in a uniform, still had to balance juggling homework and revising for exams and deciding life paths and playing volleyball – leading a volleyball team, retracing the path they’d climbed the previous year to the last battle at the summit, (though where he put down his foot and the foes that appeared took different shapes). They all seemed momentous when in the confinement of the school grounds, but here, Akaashi remembered Bokuto faced an open world, and suddenly his worries seemed trivial.  
  
The stars on the ceiling began to fade, and his thoughts seemed to fade along with it, sucked into a black hole so he was floating in the vast abyss, almost forgetting himself—  
  
A white pinprick appeared almost directly above him, which started to glow brighter and brighter.  
  
There was a quiet squeak from the shifting cushion beside him.  
  
“Hey,” Bokuto whispered into his ear, warm breath on cooled skin sending a shiver rippling through him. “Isn’t that Vega?”  
  
As if to confirm Bokuto’s guess, another dot appeared, and then another, forming a triangle – the one Akaashi had taught him just before the summer holidays that seemed much further than a year behind him.  
  
He inhaled a sharp breath. It reminded him why he’d invited Bokuto to the planetarium in the first place. This show focused on summer constellations, and it was a way of sharing a newfound mutual interest outside of volleyball; after that day of gazing at printed stars, they were gradually drawn into the world of astronomy, both studying the skies independently as well as together.  
  
But it was exactly because of the new physical and mental distance that had pushed between them that Akaashi had brought him here. So they could sit together like this, side by side, gazing up the same view that filled their heads with similar thoughts – and maybe, just maybe, they would brush and share the odd identical one, too.  
  
Before Akaashi could say Bokuto was right, the narrator began to talk, and he heard the squeak again; a quick side-glance and Bokuto had sunk back into his chair.  
  
So Akaashi did the same, sinking into the soft cushion and letting the stars and the soothing voice flow through him.  
  
(Although there was one thought that came to mind, which he knew he and Bokuto wouldn’t share—  
  
Vega may be the brightest star in the summer sky, but the one that shone the brightest anywhere was one not named in any book, currently just an arm’s reach away.)

.・.❈.・.✱.・.✭.・.✱.・.✵.・.✯.・.✱.・.✹.・.★.・.✱.・.

“Keiji!”  
  
Keiji turned, squinting at the blurred face of the figure waving at him, the unnaturally white station lights shining from behind doing nothing to shed light on his features (not that he didn’t know who it was); he should have brought his glasses.  
  
As much as he wanted to wave back, he was more intent on retaining the little warmth he had left in his hands, having forgotten his gloves in his university bag, so he kept them buried deep in his coat pockets. He bowed his head instead, like he always did.  
  
Koutarou bounded up to him and Keiji realised too late he wasn’t stopping, throwing his arms around his shoulders and squeezing as he knocked him backwards. Keiji had no choice but to pull his hands out then, clutching Koutarou’s shoulders to keep balance.  
  
“Good evening, Koutarou-san.”  
  
“It feels like it’s been ages!”  
  
“It has been – almost two months.”  
  
“That long?! But we always chat so it doesn’t feel like that much time’s passed!” Koutarou released him; Keiji’s body felt colder than it had been before the hug, like someone had stripped him of his coat. “C’mon, let’s go! I’ve been looking forward to this ever since you told me about it!”  
  
Keiji led Koutarou to their destination, a park five minutes away set up with winter illuminations, blue dots forming an outline of pictures around each constellation presented in the same colours – mainly whites, but some reds, oranges and yellows – as they appeared in the sky.  
  
Keiji really should have brought his glasses. They were at the back of the crowd and from this distance, the number of stars had doubled and overlapped each other.  
  
“Ushiwaka,” Koutarou said, pointing; Keiji guessed he was pointing to Taurus and after staring for a good few seconds he just about made out the horns. “Tsum-Tsum, Samu-Samu.” Those two must have been Gemini.  
  
“You haven’t learnt the names of the winter constellations yet?” Keiji asked, surprised. Koutarou had been so enthusiastic about the summer constellations, Keiji automatically thought he’d researched the winter ones himself.  
  
“I have! But I like my versions better.” Koutarou pointed to another. “Me!”  
  
Keiji followed his finger to the constellation in question, squinting—  
  
“You didn’t bring your glasses, did you?” Koutarou accused.  
  
“I didn’t think I’d need it.” Keiji was still stubborn about not wearing them unnecessarily. He finally spotted the row of three dots. “Are you comparing yourself to Orion?”  
  
“He’s strong! And a hunter, too!” Keiji looked to find Koutarou gazing at the light up. “And that reddish star on his left shoulder is Betelgeuse, I remember you telling me.”  
  
Keiji only vaguely remembered telling him, but that was because he’d been preoccupied with other distractions back then. “You’re far too kind to be a hunter, Koutarou-san.” Keiji started walking to see if there was an opening for him to view the illuminations closer.  
  
“But it’s in my name – a great-horned owl!” Koutarou’s insistence followed.  
  
“Yes, the affectionate kind at owl cafés, who likes to be fed and petted.” Though Keiji inwardly added that Koutarou was a creature of the wild when playing volleyball.  
  
“I can’t be tamed, Keiji! I’m a predator, a formidable force of nature, a—”  
  
“Koutarou-san, shall we have yakiniku for dinner? I received a birthday coupon this month and have yet to use it – half price on all-you-can-eat for all meat cuts, extended to three hours.”  
  
“ _What?!_ That sounds amazing! And after, we can head to that book café you’ve been wanting to go to, the one with the big sofas and cushions – hang on, you don’t need your glasses to read, do you? Or you can just relax and enjoy your coffee and I’ll read to you! But maybe something simpler than one of your hard fantasy novels—”  
  
Keiji was glad the night concealed the knowingness from his smile.

.・.✼.・.✫.・.✸.・.☆.・.❈.・.✸.・.✪.・.

“I didn’t know you were interested in photography.”  
  
Keiji picked up on the bland tone Koutarou said this in as they strolled leisurely down the road to the exhibition hall.  
  
“My tutor pointed out my interests are very text-based and I should consider balancing it out with graphics, apparently even more so if I’m to apply to be an editor, though I’m not sure why it’s necessary when I’d be expressing wishes to enter positions involving literature…” Keiji looked to Koutarou and his blank expression as he looked to the ground beyond his feet. “It’s something I decided recently, and out of all the options available, I thought photography would be the most effective for sparking inspiration in my writing.”  
  
“I get it.”  
  
“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to be swayed by your opinion – you know you’ll start searching for something I might like, and I’ll do everything I can to like your suggestions. I wanted to discover what I would be most drawn to myself.”  
  
Koutarou nodded hard and lifted his head. “I wouldn’t want to take away chances to find out what really excites you.” He shot a smile at him. “And I haven’t been to a photo exhibition since school, I’m looking forward to it – and it’s of the night sky!”  
  
Koutarou was back on his feet, and unlike his high school days, Keiji no longer thought of himself to be the one in control of his emotions.  
  
The exhibition itself was dimmed with gentle spotlights on the enlarged photographs. Keiji was used to seeing a spray of white on black or hazy coloured clouds, but he didn’t realise so many moods could be created by factors such as time and silhouettes. It breathed new life into the stars he was so used to studying.  
  
They stepped up to the next piece – ‘Winter Triangle’ – the three brightest points high above a silhouette of Mt. Fuji glowing with the fading sunlight on the horizon.  
  
“I used to feel sorry for the little dog,” Koutarou said, “because it’s in a constellation with just two dots, and has to compete with the big dog with the brightest star in the sky and the second brightest star on the most popular constellation.”  
  
“I recall you saying.”  
  
“But now it’s like my guardian star. The star of a constellation that represented the Egyptian jackal god, and the star that sniffed out a track that led us to admitting we liked each other.”  
  
How could Keiji forget? He’d explained about the Winter Triangle on the same day as the Summer, Koutarou back in his seat having asked Keiji to continue teaching him about stars, except this time they were alone in the classroom. At some point while explaining about Procyon, their conversation turned off into summer plans, and then graduation plans, and then Koutarou said they should go and view stars together and Keiji faltered; so Koutarou started over-explaining himself, and Keiji started to talk in a cryptic language that could only be understood when piecing together what he said with what he thought. Koutarou was good at guessing the unsaid half and started asking questions instead, and Keiji gradually revealed the missing half until they realised they were looking at the same picture.  
  
“Which star would you choose as your guardian star, Keiji?”  
  
Only one name popped into mind. But he wasn’t sure it was time to reveal it just yet.  
  
“I’ll let you know once I think over it,” he said with a secret smile, and wandered on to the next photograph.

.・.★.・.✧.・.✫.・.✧.・.✹.・.★.・.

Keiji was sitting on a picnic sheet, wearing a down jacket to fend off the cold for the top half of his body and draping a woollen blanket over his lower half – and Koutarou’s, who was staring up at the sky beside him.  
  
It had been Koutarou’s idea, to adjust their schedules (for once Koutarou being the busier as he travelled in and out of the country) and travel to the mountains where the skies were so clear it was a huge spread of shimmering speckles, a stark contrast to the handful he regularly saw in Tokyo.  
  
“…Carina… Canopus…”  
  
For the past few minutes, Keiji had been listening to Koutarou point out constellations and the brightest star in each.  
  
“…Auriga… Capella…”  
  
He rummaged inside his rucksack and pulled out the flask of green tea.  
  
“…Orion… Rigel…”  
  
Uncapping the two cups, Keiji balanced them on the blanket and then unscrewed the cap, pouring the steaming liquid; he picked up the cup closest to him, fingertips around the rim, and resisted taking the first sip.  
  
“…And the Winter Triangle – an _asterism_ – with Betelgeuse… Procyon… and the brightest star—”  
  
“Koutarou-san.”  
  
Keiji looked to him at the same time Koutarou turned his head.  
  
“Would you like some tea?”  
  
He held the cup handle out towards him.  
  
“Thanks!” Koutarou wrapped his fingers around the handle. “But you know I don’t count, right?” He pulled the cup from out of his grasp.  
  
A quiet laugh escaped Keiji as he picked up his own drink. “I couldn’t help it, you gave me a good opening.”  
  
Setting the flask beside him, Keiji saw Koutarou lifting the cup to his mouth; he stopped and pointed to the sky. “Sirius.” He turned to Keiji, pointing at him. “Not serious.”  
  
“Did you make that up yourself, or did your teammates help when you told them what you were doing this weekend?”  
  
“I made it up! My English has gotten a lot better, don’t you think?”  
  
“It has.” Wrapping both hands around the cup, Keiji carefully shuffled closer, staring at the stars in the drink’s reflection. Maybe that bright one there was Sirius. “And it’ll only get better as you go on to play more matches abroad.”  
  
_And maybe live abroad, while I’ll be—_  
  
“Hey – you’re thinking something like how you’ll be watching me ‘from afar’, aren’t you?”  
  
Koutarou’s arm came to wrap around his shoulders, drawing his body to him so they were pressed as closely as they could be.  
  
“You say I’m the brightest star, but I think I’m more like a shooting star. A little rock pulled to other worlds. And you’re the world I’m always drawn to, Keiji. So no matter where I am, I’ll always come shooting back to you.“  
  
Keiji knew it was probably even cheesier than it sounded, but it didn’t stop the winter air from feeling comfortably cool on his warming cheeks. “Did you make that up yourself, or did you steal it from one of the books in my to-read pile?”  
  
“It’s an original!”  
  
A small peck on his cheek; Keiji turned, running the tip of his nose along Koutarou’s jawline, and paused, before giving a small peck back.  
  
“Then your pickup lines have improved, too,” Keiji murmured. “This one might actually work.”  
  
“What’re you saying?!” Koutarou jerked back with an appalled look on his face. “They’ve always worked!”  
  
Quiet chuckles and sputtered squawking filled the country air, rising from the grassy bed and reaching for the starry skies.  
  



End file.
